Filling-machine.



H. M. SMITH.

FILLING MACHINE. APPLIOATION PIL'BD 11.13.23, 1908.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

v I 111.2.. .1.. ...IQHH f MAY/u /f M/ .MUAH/Av) UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE M. SMITH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR. TO BOTTLERS MACHINERY MANUFACTURING COMPANY7 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION ILLINOIS.

.FILLING-MACHINE@ Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

Application led March 23, 1908. Serial No. 422,716.

' lling machines and more particularly' to the means for moving the bottles or other receptacles to and from filling position.

This invention can be embodied in machines for filling charged liquors such as beer, or still liquors, and as it has especial advantages in filling charged liquors I will herein refer to its use for filling beer.

The invention can be embodied in a variety of filling machines but it has been particularly designed for use in the modern machilies of large capacity commonly referred to commercially as rotary machines. In

lift mechanisms, an

I mechanism has been found more satisfactory` these rotary machines the bottles are carried to and from filling (position by air or cam of these the cam lift commercially -because its movement is regular and even while the movement. of the air iift mechanism is dependent entirely upon the flow of air and is often irregular and uneven which tends to agitate the filled bottles on the downward movement from filling position and produce foam.

In the cam lift machines of the prior art, however, the movement of the bottles is positive and' Within certain fixed limits. This has its objections because bottles of a certain size, say pints, vary more or less in height and in the absence of any provision for satisfactorily and automatically adjusting the movement of the bottle according to its height the machine, and especially the filling valve mechanisimis subjected to undue strains which produce excessive wear and other objectionable results. Furthermore, it hap ens withmore or less `frequency that a hottie is not properly centered in filling position and its mouth engages the'cdge of the centering bell, the result ,being that the bottle or some parte of the machine are broken owing to the factthat with thecam lift mechanism the bottle must travel to the limit of its movement as defined by the cam. Or the bottle may not be sealed properly because its mouth is chipped or defective', in which event the beer will squirt out of the bottle during the filling operation. It has been customary in such cases to break the bottle so that the filling valve may close. 'lVhile these troubles will not occur if the machine is properly adjustedand the bottles are of uniform height andv are pro erly positioned in the machine, as a matter o fact such ideal conditions do not exist commercially and hence it is the object of my invention to provide a cam lift machine construct-- edand arranged to provide an even and regular movement for the receptacles to and from filling position, and especially after they have been filled, to prevent agitation 'of the liquid inthe receptacles andthus avoid liberating the contained gases and producing foam.

-The invention has for its object, further, to provide for automatically adjusting the upward thrust or movement of the cam lift mechanism of a filling machine to adapt the machine for filling bottles which vary in height. y

Another object of the invention is to provide for lowering the bottle from filling osition, in event that it is not properly sea ed, so that the filling valve may close. And a still further object of the invention is to provide an air cylinder in the cam lift mechanism of a filling machine to enable a variable movemcnt of the lift mechanism and thus provide for the filling of bottles which vary 1n height.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated the invention in a cam lift rotary filling machine and referring theretoyFigure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a detail view. Fi 3 isan enlarged detail View of the bott e rest and air cylinder. Fig. 4 is a sectional View on vthe line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to thedr'awings 4 is a hollow vertical shaft on which'is mounted a frame 5 supporting a liquid tank 6. The shaft is mounted to revolve in a stationary base 7 and is driven in any suitable manner as by a worm 8 and gear 9. A cam 10 is rigidly mounted on the base 7 and a plurality'of lift levers 11 are pivotally mounted at 12 on a support 13 which yis fastened b a key 14 to the shaft 4 to revolve therewit Each lift lever comprises a short arm 1.5, which carries an anti-friction roller 16 in fengagement with the cam, and a long arm 17. The roller 16 is mounted on` a pin carried by the short arm 15, or in any other suitable manner. A stem 18 is arranged to move vertically in a guide 19 on a spider 20 fastened by key 14 rigidly to the shaft 4. The stem 18 operates the bottle restl2ll on which the bottle shown in broken lines, is placed and carried by the rest into operative engagement with the filling valve mechanism 23.. l

The machine as so far described is one which has been in commercial use for some time and is shown and described here simply.

vas one type of machine to which my invention can be applied. If the bottle rest- 21 were mounted directly on the stem 18 it would be compelled to travel always to the same height as defined by the cam during each operation of the machine and this is objectionable for the reasons heretofore mentioned. To overcome these objections and provide a variable movement for the bottle rest, my invention contemplates a piston made in the form of a cylinder 24 and mounted on vthe upper end of the stem 18 and provided with a cup leather 24. This piston operates within an -air cylinder 25 on the top of which the bottle rest 21 is mounted. A set screw 26 projects through a slot 25 in the cylinder 25 and is fastened in the piston 24. An air pipe 26 is connected to a three-way valve 27 mounted .on the side of the cylinder 25 (Fig. and also to a tubular ring 28 which is supported on an air reservoir 29 mounted on the spider 20. A

vpipe 30 connects the reservoir with the ring and it has a reducing valve 31 of suitable construction. The supply ring 28 and the storage tank 29 are preferably provided with. pressure gages 32 and 33 respectively. The air pipe 26 is connected to the plug 34 of the valve 27 and this plug has a passage 35 which registers with a port 36 in the cylinder 25 to establish communication between the cylinder and the supply ring 28. The plug 34 also has a passage 37 which registers with a port 38 in the cylinder 25 to provide an exhaust from the cylinder' to the atmosphere. 7When the plug is turned to bring the passage 35 in register with the port 36 the exhaust passage 37 is closed and when this exhaust passage is .in register' with the port 38 the inlet passage 35 is closed. 'lhe lever arm 17 is connected by links 3!) to studs 40 on the piston 24 and projecting through slots l41 in. the air cylinder.

The machine can be made of any' suitable size and capacity, a filling mechanism 23 being located in line above each bottle rest. ln practice the bottle is placed on a bottle rest while if in lowered position, as indicated at the right of Fig. l, and in order to pull the lift lever down positively Ato lowered position VI prefer to provide the cam with a guard 42, or the cam may be made in the forni of an eccentric groove to re- Ceive the roller 16 in a manner commonly understood inthe arts. The rotary movement of the machine is continuous and as the lift mechanism travels up from' the low part of the cam to the high part of the cam the bottle will be forced against the filling mechanism to operate the samein a familiar manner. By the time the lift mechanisln begins its downward travel the bottle will have been filled and when it reaches the limit of its downward movement the bottle will bein position for removal from the machine. T'he lift lever is operated positively by the cam and always swings in the same arc and the stem 18 likewise travels within the same limits at all times. A high fluid pressure may be supplied to the reservoir 29 in any suitable manner and reduced b the valve 31 to maintain in the supply ring 28 the desired pressure which will under ordinary conditions hold the bottle rests in normal position relative to the pistons 24 to carry the bottles into engagement with and to operate the filling valve' mechanisms. These parts will ordinarily be adj usted to ac'- commodate what will probably be the shortest bottle to be found in a standard size and when a taller bottle is moved to filling position the bottle rest will automatically yield between the short bottle to which the machine is set and the bottle to be filled. In

other words, while the piston 24 will travel to its regular upward limit of movement the bottle rest 2l will be stopped by the bottle engaging the filling mechanism and a portion of ,the air in the chamber 43 will bei forced back through .the pipe 26 to the supply ring. The piston 24 and the air cylinder 25 ordinarily travel together but, as just stated, when a bottle which is taller than a bottleI for which the machine is set is f moved `to filling position there will be a relative movement of the piston 24 and the cylinder 25 which carries the bottle rest 2l. 'lhus the upward movement of the bottle rest is variableand automatically adjusted to compensate for the variations in the height of standard bottles. l'V hen this occurs there will be no appreciable increase of' pressure in the air lchamber because the an'louut of air thus forced out of the chamber will be comparatively small and it will be distributed through the other air 'chambers, the pipes 26 and the `supply ring 28. Therefore the taller bottle will exert no appreciable increase of pressure on the filling mechanism and offer 'no appreciable increase of resistance to the cam lift mechanism than a shorter bottle to the heightV of which the machine is set.

n If a bottle with a chipped lip is moved to filling position or if a bottle is not properly centered or enrages the edge of the centering bell 44 or if for any reason a bottle is not properly sealed the beer will ordinarily ,squirt out of its mouth and to overcome this the plug 34 can be turned to exhaust suliiycient air from the air chamber 40 to permit the bottle rest and the bottle thereon to,` drop until the filling valve is closed.` When the -plug is turned to open the exhaust from the air chamber` the inlet passage will be closed.

After the bottle is removed under such con` f the normal pressure in theair c iamber.

My invention provides in a simple and effective manner for a variable movementl to a bottle rest operated by a positive cam lift mechanism,` so that the thrust or upward movement of the bottle rest will be automatically adjusted according to the height of the bottle, and Without appreciably and to no material extent affecting the pressure exerted by the bottle'on t-hejfilling mechanism or the resistance offered by the lift mechanism to the cam. When a bottle is not properly sealed for any reason my invention provides a simple means for lowering the bottle to allow the filling mechanism to closel Instead of air .I may use gas or a liquid.

The lowering movement of the air cyline der is limited by. engagement with the spider 2O and if all or a portion of the air has been exhausted from the chamber 43, as before described, it will refill when the cylinder strikes the spider and as the piston continues its regular downward movement.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. .In a rotary bottle filling machine, the combination of a liquid tank, a plurality of filling devices depending from the tank, a plurality of bottle rests located opposite the filling devices, cam lift mechanism for raising the bottle rests to carry the bottles thereon into operative engagement with the filling devices, a fluid pressure chamber between each lift mechanism and its bottle rest, means for supplying a uniform pressure to all of said chambers and means for indepemlently cutting otl' the supply of fluid to each of said chambers.

Q. In a rotary bottle fillingmachine, the combination ot' a liquid-tank, a plurality ot' lilling devices depending from the tank, a plurality ot' bottle rests located opposite the filling devices, cam lift mechanism for raising` the bottle rests to earrvthebottles thereon into operative. engagement with the .filling devices, a fluid pressure chamber bctween each lift mechanism and its bottle interposed in said pipe for cutting off the supply of fluid to said chamber.

3. In a bottle fillingmachine, the combination of a bottley rest, cam lift mechanism for raising the bottle rest, a fluid chamber interposed in said lift mechanism to enable -a'variable movement of the rest, a :fluid storage tank on-the machine, a fluid supply receptacle connected to the tank, a pressure reducing valve in said connection, and a pipe connection between the supply receptacle and the fluid chamber.

4,. In a bottle filling machine, the combi-l nation of a bottlev rest, cam lift mechanism for operating the bottle rest, a fluid chamber interposed in said lift mechanism to enable a variable movement of' the bottle rest, a

three-way valve connected to said chamber,

a source of fluid supply, a pipe connection from said supply to said valve, said valve and chamber having passagesland ports to establish communication between the chamber and the receptacle and between the chamber and the'atmosphe're.

In a rotary bottle filling machine, the combination of a liquid tank, a plurality of filling devices depending from thetank, a plurality of bottle rests located opposite the fillingdevices, cam lift mechanism for raising the bottle rests to carry the bottles thereon into operative engagementl with the filling devices, a fluid pressure chamber bel tween -each lift mechanism and its bottle rest, and means for exhausting the pressure from said pressure chamber.

6. In a rotary bottle filling machine, the combination of a liquid tank, a plurality of filling devices depending from the' tank, a plurality of bottle rests opposite the filling devices, a cylinder depending fromeach rest and providing a fluid chamber, a piston comprising a cylinder and a cup leather guided in the bottle rest cylinder, a stem connectedv to the piston, cam mechanism for operating the stem, means for supplying pressure to the chamber above the piston, and means for cuttingoff said supply and exhausting the pressure fron'rthe chamber.

HORACE M, SMITH. Witnesses M. A. Krimis, S. I Imam. 

